MASON, OH
Mary Elaine Lacey Smith, 96, a longtime resident of Muncie, IN passed away peacefully while surrounded by her loving family at West Chester Hospital in West Chester Township, OH on May 22, 2023.
Elaine was born in 1927 in Seymour, IN to parents Elmer Lacey and Ida (Rubenaker) Lacey. She graduated from Crothersville High School in 1945 as class valedictorian and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1950 and Master of Arts in Education in 1960, both from Ball State University. Subsequently, she worked as an elementary school teacher in Mount Vernon, IN as well as Anderson, IN. She later served as a business instructor at Ivy Tech Community College in Muncie. While at Ball State, Elaine met the love of her life, Verl V. Smith, Jr. whom she married in 1954.
Elaine and Verl remained happily married for 40 years until his passing in 1994. Elaine’s children, Vicki and Dwight, also brought her much joy. With her family, she enjoyed traveling and camping, especially to national parks. Elaine and family travelled extensively throughout the country, having visited all 48 of the continental United States. Beyond that, international travels took her to Germany, South Korea, Bermuda, Mexico and Israel. She found much pleasure in cooking and was well-known for her pies, banana splits and persimmon pudding. Additionally, she enjoyed reading, sewing, plants, landscaping, collecting tea pots and was also a champion ping pong player. Elaine was a strong woman of faith who was committed to making the world a better place. She was a long-time member of College Avenue United Methodist Church (now Community of Hope) where she taught Sunday school classes for over 50 years. In addition to volunteering at A Better Way, Motivate Our Minds and Red Bird Mission, she also took multiple mission trips to various locations throughout the country and Mexico.
Elaine’s loving family includes her children, Vicki Smith Stockmann (Holger Stockmann) of Mason, OH and Dwight D. Smith (Majken Larsson) of Los Angeles, CA as well as her grandchildren, Kevin, Erik and Kelly Stockmann. She is also greatly missed by her beloved sister, Caroline Butler of Crothersville, IN as well as by a large number of nieces, nephews and other relatives.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 12pm with visitation starting at 11:00 AM both at the Adams Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 110 E. Howard St, Crothersville, IN 47229.
Additionally, a celebration of life will be held on June 3, 2023 at 2pm in Wesley Hall at Community of Hope Church, 1968 W. Main Street, Muncie, IN 47303. Light refreshments will be served.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Elaine’s memory to the following organizations: American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org) Motivate Our Minds (www.motivateourminds.org) Red Bird Mission (www.rbmission.org) A family submitted an obituary